Archive for July, 2009
Some personal accessories I’ve been into lately (which essentially means I’ve been wearing them with everything!).
Ok, so this isn’t fashion related, but hey, it’s my personal blog and who doesn’t like food?
I love baking. As with gardening I find it a wonderfully meditative process with an unbeatable prize at the end. Well, I was so lucky to receive a copy of Organic and Chic from the amazing Sarah Magid a week or so ago. Sarah, thank you! This was a really special gift that made my month!
I sat down for a couple hours and read through it, and was amazingly inspired. There is such a wonderfully warm, handmade quality to Sarah’s creations that you just can’t find in most other baking books, not to mention that everything is organic. I love the stories of how her mother inspired her passion for baking and how she’s carrying on that tradition with her own children.
I’d already made her chocolate cupcakes with espresso icing thanks to a recent design*sponge post (thank you Karyn!) where Sarah gives a video tutorial on how to make the cupcakes. The cupcake recipe is practically an exact copy of a family chocolate cake recipe I sadly lost a few years ago.
Once I received the book, I had to make the cupcakes with marshmallow frosting. I halved the frosting recipe because I was worried it would be too sweet, and immediately regretted it after actually tasting it. It’s light, mildly sweet, and addictive! See the results below.
I can’t wait to try Sarah’s fondant-free cakes, although I’m sure it’s going to take a few tries on my part before I get them looking presentable!
The book doesn’t just contain cake and cupcake recipes, though. There are plenty recipes for cookies, pies, tarts, and what Sarah calls reformed junk food. If you love baking, I highly recommend her book. It’s chock full of delicious recipes and beautiful photographs.
Hey all, Pour Porter will be on a small break for two possibly three days as I have a bunch of field work this week. See you again shortly!
Anyone here remember Martine Sitbon? Casablanca born designer who held the designer post at Chloe for a few years and also had her own minimalist, self-titled label? She shuttered her label in 2004, but is back now with Rue du Mail, a label with a soft, minimalist bent that looks like a pleasing natural progression from her past work. While the pieces from this label have a relaxed quality, there is a delicious underlying sharp and structured feel to the clothes.
Plenty of good pieces from all of the seasons so be sure to check them out. I’ve posted a couple of photos from F/W 08/09 and S/S 09. (Warning: The site is clunkily presented in outdated Flash, so be prepared for annoying navigation and snail paced load times.)
This is going to go up permanently on the new blog, but I think I need to make a brief post about blogging etiquette again.
I’ve been doing this since 2005 and started bookmarking designer and clothing boutique sites well before that. I’ve spent a lot of time finding new designers and shops, and while I enjoy it, it can be a pretty intensive process. My day job isn’t blogging, nor do I take advertising dollars to do it. I have a pretty intense and demanding day job and offline life, so when I sit down to search for links or blog about my finds it’s a commitment.
Although I do it rarely, if I discover a shop or designer on another blogger’s site and post it here, I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, credit that blog for the discovery. I don’t feel it’s right to take credit for discovering a designer or online shop when I wasn’t the one who found it. I like to think I have some integrity when it comes to that, and I appreciate it when others extend the same courtesy.
I’ve been noticing increasingly that fellow bloggers are finding designers and shops they like here on Pour Porter and then reposting without crediting. Please, let’s all have some respect for each other and give credit where credit is due. Thanks.
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